When I hung up the phone on July 24, 2016 after being told that I would never talk to Mike again, my very first thought was to go back and read through our last exchange of texts.

It was less than two weeks prior that he was asking me how training camp was going in Cincinnati, about life in general. He told me he had spoken with my mom about law school and was excited to head out west in the fall. He was hoping I could one day take over his radio show.

At the time, I never thought it would be my last conversation with him. But when the news of the car accident that ended his life last year on July 23 set in, when the reality unfathomably hits, those last words from that final conversation resonate with you the rest of your life.

***

I first met Mike not in a football setting, but in an academic setting, which is exactly what I would have wanted if given the choice. Sitting in our academic advisor Mandy Chandler’s office, I immediately realized why he was already known as the smartest kid on the football team as a redshirt freshman. I simply listened to him speak.

We’re talking about a closed, laid-back, standard Monday check-in, and Mike was already discussing future plans, what he wanted to do in life, what he wanted to get out of life, and why he didn't need any more tutors for the rest of his career at MSU. The reason? He was smarter than all of them.

Hearing that from anybody else, it would have sounded cocky or conceited. For Mike, it was just him telling the truth. What exactly could a tutor offer to Mike Sadler? He would drive them crazy anyways with his famous sarcasm and exploits, so why waste both of their time when he could do his work from the comfort of his own apartment? It was at that moment that I decided that I, too, after my freshman year would never have a tutor again. So thank you Mike, among the thousand other things, you saved the nights after my true freshman year.

Mike was different, but in a good way. He had a swagger about him. He walked and talked with confidence. His presence radiated within the locker room. He could hang with the quarterbacks, converse with the receivers, banter with the linebackers, and crack jokes with the defensive backs all in the 15 minutes we had before practice. After all, he represented neither side of the ball. He was a specialist.

Specialists, a group made up of kickers, punters, and snappers, are almost always just a little bit, let's say, different. You know what? They embrace it. Ask anyone who has ever been in a specialists' meeting room, and they will tell you that they take it upon themselves to be as off-brand as possible. Each position comes with its own reputation and nuances, but every so often a player breaks the mold and decides to walk a different path, unshackled from what is perceived or “expected” from them just because of the position that they play on the field.

For us at Michigan State, that player was Mike Sadler.

Another one of those crazy football nuances that perhaps only players truly understand is the meaning behind wearing a single-digit number. For some reason, those who wear single digits are normally pegged as some of the best players on the team. And no matter what number you don on your jersey, you become that number. That number is your identity.

Mike Sadler did not just wear No. 3. He was No. 3.

And wow, was he a wizard at punting footballs. It was magical watching Mike catch the snap, rotate the ball in his hands, and connect with his foot, sending the pigskin soaring a mile high, before touching down exactly where he intended. See, that’s the key to a great punter – Mike was not just good, he was exceptional. Left-footed, Mike knew all the intricacies of how to make the football land anywhere it needed to land. His special teams coordinator, coach Mike Tressel, always said that the punt is the most important play in football, because it changes field position to the highest degree. There was no one better in the entire nation at giving their defense an advantage to start a drive, than Mike Sadler.

The left-footed specialist was an exceptional punter, mastering the ability to put the ball inside the opponents' ten-yard line. (Getty photo)

What Mike was known for was his ability to land the ball inside an opponent’s 10-yard line, perhaps the most difficult punting skill to master. This is where Mike the Mathematical Genius came into play. Sure, any punter with a good leg can send the football flying, but can they punt the football in a way that when it meets the field will roll and stop before reaching the end zone? Mike possessed that uncanny ability; he knew the angle it needed to both leave his foot, and the angle with which it must hit the ground, along with the specific rotations the ball needed in the air. That's how he became a first team All-American and the best punter in all of college football during his playing career.

It would be remiss of me to leave out Mike’s other skills that perhaps even surpassed those he possessed as a punter, and those were his skills on display in his double duties as a running back.

“Hey diddle diddle, Sadler up the middle”

The play made famous after a 26-yard scamper for a first down against Michigan in the Big House in 2012 off of a fake punt. Mike would go on to have two more attempts for 28 yards in 2013 and finished his career with three carries for 54 yards. That's an 18-yard per carry average, the likes of which Javon Ringer, LeVeon Bell, and Jeremy Langford only dreamed of having. I'm convinced that Mike could have lined up at any skill position on the field and been just as successful.

That's the type of athlete that he was.

***

Off the field, Mike’s academic prowess was borderline unbelievable. As the first four-time academic All-American in the history of Michigan State, Mike boasted a 3.97 GPA, graduated with a degree in applied engineering sciences and completed his Master’s degree in public policy. When I said that Mike was the smartest guy on the entire team, I meant it, and everyone knew it. He had purpose. After deciding to further his academic career by heading off to Stanford for law school, Mike was truly destined to take over the world, and lead us in the absolute right direction. I would follow his lead any way he decided to go.

Mike’s personality was something many of us had never seen before. He had charisma, and charm. He was funny — truly funny — and witty. You couldn’t outsmart him, so if you were caught in one of his jokes, it was better for you to just laugh along with everyone else. If you tried to come back at him, well, that was a battle you just were not going to win.

@FauxPelini I always pretend I'm Luigi kicking a koopa shell but I will definitely have to try out the lunchbox.

He even turned those talents into a radio show called “Thick and Thin,” that he did with former Michigan State captain and offensive lineman Travis Jackson. It was a fun, energetic show that deviated from usual sports talk radio and added a light-hearted ambiance. You didn’t have to see the two of them interact to get a great laugh out of their rapport. And then there were his famous Twitter battles with @FauxPelini, a parody account made for former Nebraska head coach and current Youngstown State head coach, Bo Pelini. Pelini is a well-know cat owner, and Mike even took this banter to the gridiron where he honored Faux Pelini by recreating his Twitter avatar, petting an imaginary cat as a celebration after a good punt. Fun and unique quips like that made Mike the best teammate to be around. He could lighten up a bad situation at the drop of a dime. After all, since when is a specialist the most popular and recognizable athlete on social media, on a team full of other stars, championship game MVPs, and All- Americans?

Only No. 3 in the green and white.

Flowers were placed on the 3 and 6-yard lines to honor Sadler along with Mylan Hicks, who was killed in a September shooting in Calgary, Alberta, prior to a game on October 8 against Brigham Young University at Spartan Stadium. (USA Today photo)

Mike’s passing affected not only the Michigan State community, but everyone that he ever reached, either directly or indirectly throughout his life. For me personally, considering everything you could learn from a tragedy like this, I was reminded to live every day working towards leaving a positive mark on the world. That is what Mike did daily.

You could see that simply in the response of the entire Michigan State community in the wake of his death, — the turnout at his memorial service in Spartan Stadium, as well as the amount of people that regularly wear a Mike Sadler No. 3 shirt. When the news was delivered, it hit the team, program and former players extremely hard. But almost immediately, everyone rallied around each other and asked each other these questions: When did we ever see Mike without a smile on his face? When was Mike not trying to make light of any situation, and most importantly, when did Mike ever make excuses or feel sorry for himself?

Never. Not one time.

So, the least we could do was to honor him, by living like him. Many of my teammates changed their entire outlook; in those cases, the trajectory of their lives have taken a turn for the better. Each day turned into a challenge to live like Mike Sadler lived. And believe me, having this many people now trying to follow the trail Mike was blazing meant the world is already becoming a better place.

He was the embodiment of a student-athlete. He represented the sort of player and person that every parent should point to as an example for their kids, the sort that high school coaches should preach as an example to their players, and the sort that every college coach should expect from their own charges.

Mike accomplished more in his 24 years of life than many do in an entire lifetime. We know Mike had so much more to offer this world, but the impact he already had was incredible. As a leader of men, a college football legend, and as the reason behind a lasting legacy thanks to the Mike Sadler Foundation, everyone will know just who Mike Sadler was.

Mike, thank you for making the world a better place. You live on through all of us and especially through your amazing family — your one-of-a-kind mother Karen, father David, and sister Katie.

Rest in peace. Rest in Power. Rest in Paradise. Continue to shine your light down on us from above. Gone, but most certainly never forgotten. We love you. 3 Forever. Mike Sadler.

This upcoming Sunday, July 23rd, will be the annual celebration of Mike Sadler’s life at the Founder Brewing Co., one of Mike’s favorite places, in Grand Rapids, MI. This event is being put on by the Mike Sadler Foundation. We hope that everyone can attend to celebrate his amazing life.

Darien Harris, a former team captain of Michigan State football who graduated with a degree in journalism in 2015, is a contributor to The Athletic. Following a short stint with the Cincinnati Bengals, he returned to East Lansing as a co-host on The Drive With Jack Ebling on The Team 92.1 and rotating panelist on Press Pass on Fox 47. Darien is now in his first season in the CFL with the Ottawa Redblacks. Follow Darien on Twitter @DHarris_45.